Lens attachment for sewing machine lighting devices



June 16, 1942.

w. o. LANGILLE LENS ATTACHMENT EOE SEWING MACHINE LI GHTING DEVICES FilecLAug. 2, 1940, 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 [dull/Peal 0. jan z'ile June 16, 1942. 2,286,492

LENS mucmmm FOR SEWING MACHINE LIGHTING DEVICES w. o. LANGILLE Filed Aug. 2, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 0 m 9 w My m ?atented June 16, 1942 LENS ATTACHMENT FOR SEWING MACHINE LIGHTING DEVICES Wilfred 0. Langille, Chester, N. J., assignor to The Singer Manufacturing Company, Elizabeth, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application August 2, 1940, Serial No. 350,049

(Cl. 24o-z.14)

7 Claims.

This invention relates to lighting devices applied to sewing machines to illuminate parts of the stitching mechanism and the work, thereby to facilitate operation of the machine and to relieve the operator of eye strain and fatigue.

Many sewing machines now in use are provided with lighting devices for this purpose. It has been found, however, that in many instances the illumination is too general to be effective; greater illumination being required at the point where the sewing operation is being performed.

This invention therefore has as a primary object to provide a lens attachment which readily may be applied to sewing machines which are provided with lighting devices, thereby to concentrate a greater number of light rays at the stitching point.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lens attachment in the form of a completely self-contained unit adapted to be applied to sewing machine lighting devices and which, when attached, will be rigid and will prevent the escape of light rays except through the lens.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a lens attachment, as above described, which is simple in construction and therefore inexpensive to manufacture and which may be assembled as a unit and attached to the sewing machine without any machining operations and without the use of screws, tools or other mechani2al devices.

A still further object is so to construct the lens attachment that it will admit of circulation of air therethrough and thereby prevent overheating of the lighting device and the lens attach- I ment.

These and other objects have been attained by the construction disclosed in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a sewing machine to which the present invention has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a detail plan view of a portion of the sewing machine bracket-arm, lighting device, and the lens attachment shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the line 3-4 of Fig. 2. v

Fig. 4 is a transverse vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

invention is disclosed in Fig. 1 as applied to a "Singer Class 201" sewing machine comprising a work-supporting plate I, standard 2, bracket- Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Fig, 6 is a top perspective view of the improved lens attachment removed from the machine.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a wire clip designed to hold the lens in its supporting frame. Referring more specifically to the drawings, the

arm 3, and bracket-arm head 4. The head I supports a reciprocating needle-bar 5 which carries, at its lower end, a needle 6, and a presserbar 1 carrying the usual presser-foot 8. The needle cooperates with suitable loop-taking means, (not shown) located beneath the work-supporting plate, to form stitches. Secured to the bracket-arm 3 is an electric lighting device comprising an electric lamp-socket shell 9 of hollow tubular form, closed at one end I0 and open at its other end II for the insertion of a lamp-socket l2. Cast integral with the lamp-socket shell 9 is an inverted trough-shaped lamp-shade l3 and a downwardly and rearwardly extending slotted lug ll through which suitable conductor wires may extend for connection to the lamp-socket. The vertical rear wall I8 of the shade l3 fits against a forward vertical wall IQ of the bracketarm and is secured thereto by a fastening screw 20 and dowel-pins 2| which enter dowel-pin apertures 22 formed in the wall l9. An electric lamp 23 is removably secured in the lamp-socket l2 beneath the shade l3.

A lighting device of this nature is disclosed in United'States patent to H, J. Goosman, No.

2,031,562, Feb. 18, 1936, assigned to The Singer Manufacturing Company, to which-reference may be had for a more complete understanding of the details of construction of the above described lighting device, which details, however, form no part of the present invention.

As above stated this invention relates to a lens attachment for sewing machine lighting devices. Preferably the improved lens attachment comprises a generally rectangular frame 24 having one end rounded as shown at 25. The outline of the frame 24 corresponds to the outline of the lower edge l3 of the lamp-shade l3, against which the upper edge 24 of the frame abuts, as shown in Figs. 1, 3, 4 and 5. Secured in the frame 24 adjacent the inner edge thereof is a spring-wire frame-supporting arm 26 which extends upwardly and overlies a portion of the lamp-shade. The free end portion 26 of the arm 26 is curved upwardly and is adapted to bear upon the concaved curved portion I3 of the lamp-shade where the upper curved wall thereof merges into the vertical rear wall l8, thereby to support the weight of the attachment and clamp the same in contact with the lower edge of the lamp-shade. The lower inner edges of the side .walls 24 and 24 of the attachment Jor portion thereof to an area about the stitching point of the sewing machine, as illustrated in Fig. l. The lens is maintained in contact with the flange 2! and held against movement thereon by means of a spring-wire clip 29, shown detached in Fig. 7. This clip is formed with slightly bowed side legs 2i! and 29 and a connecting curved mid-portion 29 adapted to fit within the curved end of the frame 24. The legs 28* and 28 of the spring-clip 29, are adapted to be snapped beneath inwardly extending ribs 24 and 24 respectively, provided .by the side walls 24 and 24 of the attachment frame, and into contact with the upper surface of the lens, as shown most clearly in Figs. 4 and 6. Thus the lens is removably held within the frame 24 solely by the spring-clip 29 which may be inserted or removed without the use of tools.

The curved left end of the lens fits within the curved end 25 of the frame 24. That end of the lens, however, is formed with a notch 30 (see Fig. 6) which affords an air space 3| (see Fig. 3) between the end of the lens and the end of the frame. The other end Z of the lens stops short oi the other end wall of the frame thereby leaving an opening 32 between the two as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 6. The arm 29 of the spring-clip 29 has an inwardly extending and down-turned end 29 which engages the end I of the lens to hold the latter against endwise movement in the frame 24.

Projecting upwardly from the upper edges of the side wall 24 and the end wall 25 of the attachment frame 24, is a rib or fin 33 which extend upwardly behind the lower edge l3 of the lamp-shade i3, as shown most clearly in Figs. 3 and 4. This rib forms a light-tight joint between the attachment frame 24 and the lampshade and thereby prevents the seepage of light rays which otherwise might shine in the eyes of the operator and be a source of annoyance.

The straight end wall 24 of the frame 24 is provided with an extending finger 34 adapted to fit within the lamp-socket shell 9 between that element and the lamp-socket l2, as shown most clearly in Fig. 5. Thus that finger cooperates with the arm 26 in rigidly yet removably securing the lens attachment on the sewing ma.- chine lighting attachment. The rear side wall .24 of the attachment frame is cut out at 35 to fit about the head of the screw 20 which secures the lamp-shade to the bracket-arm. This engagement of the head of the screw with the cutout 35 also helps to locate the attachment on the lighting device and adds stability to the attachment.

A shown most clearly in Figs. 3, and 6, the end wall 24 of the attachment frame is formed with an aperture 36 through which the base of the lamp 23 extends. This aperture is of such shape and size as to afford considerable clearance about the base of the lamp. The spaces 3| and 32, between the ends of the lens and the attachment frame, and the aperture 36 afford means to permit a circulation of air through the lens attachment thereby carrying off the heat of the lamp and preventing the lighting device and the len attachment from becoming excessively warm.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that this invention has provided a lens attachment for sewing machine lighting devices which is inexpensive to manufacture, which readily may be applied to or removed from sewing machines now in use without the necessity of making any machining operations or the use of anytools, and which, when applied, will greatly improve the function of the lighting device.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what I claim herein is:

1. In a sewing machine having a lighting device including an electric lamp and a lamp-shade overlying said lamp, a lens-supporting means comprising a frame, means including a spring arm carried by said frame and extending upwardly and laterally into overlying contact with the upper surface of said lampshade for securing said frame in contact with the lower edge of said lamp-shade, means foreifecting a lighttight joint between said lamp-shade and said frame, and a light-concentrating lens within said frame beneath said lamp.

2. In a sewing machine having a lighting device including a lamp-socket shell, a lamp-socket within said shell, an electric lamp secured within said socket and a lamp-shade overlying said lamp, a lens-supporting means comprising a frame, a finger projecting from said frame and adapted to fit within said lamp-socket shell to support one end of said frame on said lighting device, a spring-arm carried by the other end of said frame and adapted to overlie a portion of said lamp-shade to support the other end of said frame on said lighting device, and a lightconcentrating lens within said frame beneath said lamp.

3. In a sewing machine having an arm, a lighting device including a lamp-socket shell, a lampsocket within said shell, an electric lamp secured within said socket, an inverted trough-shaped lamp-shade overlying said lamp and a screw securing said lamp-shade to a wall of said arm, a lens-supporting means comprising a frame having in one wall thereof a notch the walls of which are adapted to engage the head of said screw to locate said frame relative to said lamp-shade, a finger projecting from one end of said frame and fitted within said lamp-socket shell, a framesupporting arm carried by the other end of said frame and overlying said lamp-shade, said framesupporting arm and said finger serving to secure said frame to the underside of said lamp-shade, and a light-concentrating lens within said frame beneath said lamp.

4. A unitary lens attachment for sewing machine lighting devices having a lamp and an overlying lamp-shade comprising a frame corresponding in outline to the lower edge of the lamp-shade and adapted to be secured thereto, said frame having a projecting rib adapted to fit within the lower edge of the lamp-shade, a frame-attaching element connected to said frame and having a portion spaced therefrom and shaped to overlie and engage the upper surface of said lamp-shade to removably secure said frame against the under side of the lamp-shade, lens-supporting flanges and inwardly extending ribs formed on inner walls of said frame, a lightconcentrating lens supported upon said flanges beneath said ribs, and a spring clip located within said frame and engaging the under side of said ribs and the upper side of said lens to prevent movement of the lens relative to the frame.

5. A unitary lens attachment for sewing machine lighting devices comprising a frame adapted to be removably secured to the sewing machine fighting device, lens-supporting elements provided by the inner walls of said frame, a light-concentrating lens supported upon said elements, a spring clip located within said frame and engaging said lens to prevent movement of the lens relative to the frame, detent elements provided by the inner walls of said frame and overlying and engaging said clip to retain the clip in said frame, and a spring arm having one end secured to said frame and extending upwardly and laterally and adapted to contact with the upper surface of the sewing machine lighting device to support the attachment thereon.

6. A lens attachment as set forth in claim 5 in which one end wall of the frame is provided with an aperture affording an air passage; inwhich the ends of said lens are spaced from the end walls of the frame to afford other air passages: and in which the spring clip comprises a bent wire having opposed legs one of which is bent downwardly to contact with one end of the lens thereby to prevent endwise movement of the lens 4 in the frame.

'7. In a sewing machine lighting device the combination with an inverted trough-shaped lamp-shade formed externally in its upper portion with a concave portion or recess, attachment having a lens-containing frame adapted to fit against the lower edge of said lamp-shade, and a spring-arm secured at one end to said frame and at its opposite free end resting in said recess. WILFRED 0. LANGILIE.

of a lens 

